Science 360 Tim Stephenson

Dr. Helene Hill was a research scientist who did excellent work. What was working against her though was that she was doing her work at a time when men dominated the field and discriminated against women.

Now at the age of 95 and working on writing her second book, Dr. Hill plans to release her memoir titled The Crying Window, to tell her story of purpose and persistence in the face of prejudice. Already a published author, Helene released a book (available on Amazon) titled Hidden Data: The Blind Eye of Science, telling the story of becoming a whistle-blower when she noticed falsified data in government-funded research

This is a story that can inspire women in science to stay the course, and a wake-up call to men to recognize the significant contributions to science that women make every day.

Within this conversation are stories of idealistic naivete, fond remembrance of teachers who inspired and life experiences that altered the course of Helene's career. Hers was a life of a dedicated love of science, a high sense of justice and a pursuit of truth within research. 

This is a reminder of the special privilege we have to listen to the wisdom that can only come from experience. And in this case, it was the experience of doing what was right in the massive face of opposition. 

Read more about Dr. Helene Hill's story at http://www.helenezhill.com/

Welcome to today’s episode, where we have an extraordinary guest, Peter Byck, the director of the upcoming documentary "Roots So Deep." Peter’s journey from Kentucky to California, where he attended Cal Arts for film school and spent over 15 years in the Los Angeles film industry, is nothing short of inspiring.

His work took a pivotal turn after witnessing the impact of "An Inconvenient Truth," which led him to explore solutions to climate change through his documentary "Carbon Nation."

Peter dives deep into the realm of regenerative agriculture in his latest project. He vividly recalls the early days of his research, where he realized that while there was significant focus on the destruction caused by conventional farming practices—like soil erosion from growing corn and the environmental toll of feedlots—no one was studying the potential of healthy, regenerative systems. This epiphany set him on a path to investigate how adaptive grazing can restore soil health rapidly, much faster than traditional methods suggest.

In 2013, a series of meetings with various scientists—rangeland specialists, bird ecologists, entomologists, and microbiologists—led Peter to Arizona State University. Here, he received a grant to unite these experts in a collaborative effort to study sustainable farming practices. The enthusiasm and eagerness of these scientists to break away from their institutional silos was palpable. Their collective research laid the foundation for "Roots So Deep," which examines the profound impact of adaptive grazing on farms in the Southeastern United States.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.

Watch the documentary at rootssodeep.org
Follow on Instagram @carboncowboys
 

Recently, I've been approached by colleagues about various issues they've found or heard about. I appreciate that they come to me to see what I think. This is what a collegial workplace should look like.

One came and brought up the topic of wellness through cold plunging. Another brought up concerns about how AI will affect our classes. I constantly get challenged over the debate between electric and gas-powered cars. Still, another brought up the issue of cloud seeding.

I decided to share some thoughts around these topics (although I left out the cloud seeding part of the recording...maybe another time). I've always said that as teachers, we need to be ready with informed answers because we want to encourage our students to ask questions. I never want to shut down a good question nor placate it with a minimalist answer or simply tell them to go find out for themselves. I like to employ the "teach" part of my job title.

So here is a brief rundown on three of these topics from my point of view. I hope you think through YOUR answer to these issues. If you have opinions or knowledge that differs from mine, please reach out at astrostephenson11@gmail.com and let's dialogue and allow me to learn from you.

My greatest desire for this podcast is to show you, the teacher, how teaching can be. In its purest sense and in the light of First People's Principles of Learning, there is generally one in the room who is about to lead a discussion on a particular topic. But it is not shared without great respect for the ones listening, offering up the opportunity to differ, interpret, analyze and question.

And when it comes to space, inevitably there will be questions asked that you don't know the answer to. But every time this happens, allow it to add to your knowledge bank so that if it comes up again in the future, you're ready.

So this may be a discussion about the Moon, but it is more than that. It is as teaching should be: multiple people involved in a respectable conversation, delving deeper and deeper into a topic. I hope you notice and can think of ways that this conversation could lead into activities of inquiry, presentation by the students, group-lead gallery walks involving art and science and history, filled with opportunities to express a newfound and, indeed, profound understanding of this heavenly body we call the Moon.

Where could your lesson go next? What planet or star or galaxy do you want to learn about to lead further lessons and explorations of space? If you allow the teacher mind to go wild, the possibilities are endless.

Here are two new twists...firstly, I'm the one getting interviewed on this episode, and secondly, it's my wife asking the questions!

Yes, I invited Sheryl to turn the mic on me after I was inspired to do so when my guest from episode 88 said she was curious about why I got into teaching. That was Marika Cullis-Suzuki so be sure to check that episode out.

This episode is a bit of an experiment. I hypothesize that behind every great podcaster is an even greater spouse. I'd love to do this sort of episode regularly. I'm not oblivious to the fact that there have been many times when I thought I was saying something intelligent, only to have Sheryl shed so much more light on it! I guess we all need someone in our lives to point out that we don't know it all.

Please connect with me to let me know if you want Sheryl to come on with me regularly. You can email me and give me some feedback on this:

astrostephenson11@gmail.com

As usual, please rate, review and subscribe on Apple or Spotify to help with the algorithms.

What if teaching was less about tradition and more about breaking the rules? What if teaching put less emphasis on predetermined learning outcomes and standardized tests and more emphasis on discovery and inquiry?

What you would have would be an educational system that inspires, that evokes meaning and puts the learner first, even over the dusty lesson plans that would have fit right in if they were delivered 20 years ago.

This is the mind of Dr. Ross Laird, a post-secondary educator, an educational consultant and a progressive thinker who forges ahead with the right kind of change, even in the face of resistance from the mainstream institution of school. A man after my own heart.

Ross was preaching to the choir in this conversation. And I hope you'll join us for the next chorus, because as I like to say, teaching really can be this way.

But let's let Ross explain. He speaks so well and his evidence-based points are so well made.

Please find more of his work at https://www.rosslaird.com where you will find his blogs, articles and his Tedx talk.

I'm also going to link to my book "Beyond the Classroom". We talk about the section of the book where I wrote about Ross after his visit to my school over 15 years ago.

You can get in touch with Ross and have him come to your school for a brilliant pro-d if you email him at ross@rosslaird.com

Be sure to check out more episodes of Science 360 such as my discussion with Dr. Marika Cullis-Suzuki where we discuss the intrinsic value of scientific knowledge and how important it is to inspire our students with the wonder of nature. Or how about a discussion about AI with Dr. Tim Dasey. There are lots of conversations that will amplify what you do at school and in your science classroom.

Please rate and review and subscribe on your favourite podcasting platform.